OAK BROOK, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Inland Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (Inland http://realestate.oregonlive.com/ Income Trust) announced today the acquisition of Settlers Ridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Milford Marketplace in Milford, Connecticut, adding a total of nearly 600,000 square feet to the companys portfolio. Matthew Tice, vice president of Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, Inc., facilitated the purchases of the properties on behalf http://realestate.nj.com/ of Inland Income Trust.

The acquisition of Settlers Ridge and Milford Marketplace was a phenomenal opportunity to add two strong, necessity-based assets to Inland Income Trusts growing websites retail portfolio, said Mitchell Sabshon, president and chief executive officer of Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation. With their solid national tenant line-ups and strong demographics, these grocery-anchored centers match perfectly with Inland Income Trusts strategy to acquire high quality multi-tenant retail assets.

Located at 200 Chestnut Ridge Drive in Pittsburgh, Settlers Ridge was constructed from 2008 through 2011. The 472,572-square-foot property is anchored by Market District, a gourmet grocery and dining concept by Giant Eagle, Inc. Settlers Ridge is 98.5 percent occupied as of the acquisition date with more than 40 tenants, including Cinemark, LA Fitness, Barnes & Noble, Michaels, Ulta Beauty, Panera Bread, P.F. Changs China Bistro and Cadillac Ranch.

Milford Marketplace, located at 1650 Boston Post Road in Milford, was constructed in 2007 and is anchored by Whole Foods. Other tenants in the 112,257-square-foot property include Banana Republic, Chicos, Peoples United Bank, J. Jill and Justice.

About Inland Real Estate Income Trust, Inc.

Inland Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. was formed to acquire, directly or indirectly, a portfolio of commercial real estate located throughout the United States. Inland Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. is focused on acquiring primarily core multi-tenant retail assets. Inland Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. is sponsored by Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation. For more information, please visit www.inland-investments.com.

I have friends who've had their eyebrows tattooed, but before resorting to a permanent measure I thought I'd consult an eyebrow specialist.

All roads lead to Valerie of Beverly Hills. In her lavender and cream salon, she does eyebrows for $75 while her associates do them for $40. Valerie is against tattooing because she says styles change and with time, the skin on your fac

10 housing markets where its better to buy than to rent

Mihai Andritoiu/iStockphoto

By Laurie Kolikowski/TheStreet

Trying to decide whether to buy a home or rent one is a big decision. In two-thirds of country's major metro areas, buying a home makes more sense than renting, even if http://cocopalms-condo.info the homebuyer stays in the home for just two years.

That's because in many markets the time it takes for a buyer to "break even" on her investment vs. renting is less than two years, according to analysis of fourth-quarter data by online real estate listings site Zillow. Zillow's break-even analysis "looks at how long it takes to come out ahead on a home purchase versus renting the same home, [by] recouping the costs [associated with] buying, including taxes and maintenance."

In other words, after buying and living in a home for more years than indicated http://www.realtor.com/ by the "breakeven horizon," as Zillow calls it, "homeowners begin to have more money and assets than they would have if they had rented the same home over that same time period," the company said.

To be sure, home-price appreciation slowed over the past year, making the length of time it takes to "break even" on a purchase longer in most metro areas, Zillow said.

Still, with mortgage rates still near historic lows, even if they have inched up in recent weeks from earlier in the year, buying a home is now more appealing than ever.

Zillow calculated median estimate home values for the geographic areas by including the value of all single-family residences, condominiums and cooperatives, regardless of whether they sold within a given period. The values are seasonally adjusted. It calculates a median monthly rental price for a given geographic area by including the value of all single-family residences, condominiums, cooperatives and apartments in Zillow's database, regardless of whether they are currently listed for rent.

Here are the top 10 markets where it makes more sense to buy a home than to rent.

Note: Breakeven time frames are based on fourth-quarter data; median home values, monthly rents and home price appreciation estimates are as of May 31, 2015.

Sears taps its real estate to bring in cash

Sears Holdings (SHLD) will sell some of its properties to two newly created ventures, which in turn will lease them back to the company, generating much-needed cash.

In one deal, billionaire Edward Lampert's struggling retail empire will form http://www.real-estate.com/ a real estate investment trust (REIT) with Seritage Growth Properties that will acquire about 254 Sears Holdings properties, most of which are operated as Sears and Kmart stores. The venerable company, which owned or leased 1,725 Kmart and Sears stores combined as of January, expects to earn $2.5 billion from the sale.

The other REIT Lampert formed was with General Growth Properties (GCP). Sears will contribute 12 properties that are valued at $330 million and will continue to operate them. General Growth will make a cash contribution of $165 million to the joint venture in exchange for a 50 percent stake. Sears Holdings will own the other 50 percent when the deal is completed.

"Today's announcement demonstrates our ability to unlock a small portion of Sears Holdings' vast and valuable real estate portfolio, and represents an important step in the continued transformation of Sears Holdings," said Lampert, who is both the company's CEO and largest shareholder, in a press release. "We continue to show that Sears Holdings is an asset-rich enterprise with multiple levers to generate financial flexibility, while creating shareholder value."

When Lampert first broached the idea of putting the retailer's real estate holdings into a REIT in November, shares of the company surged 31 percent, the most they have ever gained in the decade that he has run the company. Lampert has sold real estate and leased other properties to keep Sears afloat among other moves, such as spinning off preppy clothing brand Land's End and selling off a significant stake of the chain's holdings in Canada.

REIT investors, though, may be leery about investing in company so closely tied the troubled retailer, he said.

Shares of the Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Sears, which initially traded up on the news, fell 5 cents to close on Wednesday at $41.33. They have gained more than 25 percent since January.

As of January, Sears had about $250 million in cash, a decline of more than 70 percent from January 2014, and it had about $800 million available on its credit line. Sears burned through $2 billion in cash last year and has generated more than $1 billion from the moves Lampert has made. Unfortunately for Sears, it has lost more than $7 billion over the past four fiscal years.

Islamic Real Estate Investment Trusts: UAE prospects.

The property market in the UAE is buoyant as a result of the
announcement of Expo 2020. An inf lux of wealth from other regions has
improved the local confidence and liquidity situation in the country.
Capitalists are looking for opportunities with great caution due to
volatility in financial markets and recent recession.

Real Estate Investment Trusts [REITs] were initially legislated in
1960 by the US and continued to evolve, where according to the European
Public Real Estate Association Global REIT survey, 34